The couple that perfectly complement one another…..
September in Prague that year was cold and windy. An early frost descended upon the fairy city. Autumn crept into a dismal winter, chilling the city, dimming the lights. Anna was tired of eternal winter. She longed for budding flowers to blossom once more and for iridescent ducks to reemerge along the banks of the Vltava. Every morning she had coffee at the Charles café just across from the Charles Bridge it was named after. She would sit by the large window pain, her view slightly obscured by cursive letters spelling out the various coffees and pastries offered inside the café. Anna drank her usually rose hip and jasmine infused tea and read the newest Slavic novels and essays. Anna loved the little café. The bustle of people, the simple yet potent strands of notes sung by the local musician’s violin mixed with the fragrance of the finest imported flowers and the old, gold frame mirrors that lined the walls were all charming features. Sometimes Anna would discuss philosophy and art with the adjacent table’s occupants. She enjoyed engaging in unexpected conversation and studied the unique characteristics of all the individuals she encountered. But her interaction with strangers was discontinuous. Anna was admired for her beauty, grace, wit, and intelligence, by all she encountered but something within her character forced Anna to cease all connections she created. Anna undoubtedly welcomed friendship, but the many suitors, all of whom had become café regulars in an attempt to woo her, Anna had gracefully dismissed. Only the most prosperous, successful, intelligent, handsome, and socially reputable gentlemen dared suit her, and yet she was unmoved by their unrelenting affection. She was not persuaded by love declarations or tempted by lavish gifts, like most girls might be. All of her friends questioned her sanity, but Anna waited, nevertheless unsure of what, precisely, she was waiting for.
Then one cold, rainy day that winter a windstorm engulfed the city. Trees became uprooted, even the stone bridges shook on their foundations. Anna had finished her morning tea and was about to leave the café, but Mark, the café owner, and a father like figure to Anna, urged her to remain seated until the storm passed. Anna was busy and late for work, but she agreed to wait until the high winds ceased. As soon as she had been reseated, the creaky café door opened, letting in a gust of wind much to the dismay of the crowded café occupants. The structured shadow of a tall stranger alarmed Anna and she turned to see to whom the shadow belonged. Their eyes met. In the place of the frost and the winds came the sweet fragrance of spring and the sound of water drops hitting the duck’s feathers, ruffled on their backs. Anna did not believe in “ Le coup de foudre” or love at first sight. She considered herself too well educated to be susceptible to such unrealistic fantasies. But a passion she had never experienced before overwhelmed her sensible nature. The nervous tension that came from being late to work, the imprisoning pressure and need to engage in an unreasonable amount of intellectual and personal activities, and the overzealous determination that stimulated her overachieving character, all the intangible factors that caused her anxiety ceased the second their eyes met. Anna was in love with the stranger and he was wholly and unpredictably in love with her. Finally the stars met the night sky, water had found sand, and music and beauty reigned perpetually. They were one, captivated in an instant, forever, in a world of larger moments. It is rare that a love can be so complete. That words, nor presence, nor status, can intervene in affection. That love can be so whole, so disconnected from ulterior variables. But Anna and the stranger exemplified this love. All of the wars, and conflicts, heartbreak, and pain, have been waged in an attempt to create such a love. Perhaps they are all in vain, for man cannot create such beauty, it merely is. Its existence kindles conflict, and therefore conflict is inevitable. Yet despite the gravities derived from attaining a love so pure, knowing that that love exists is in and of itself sufficient. Although we may never live to experience it for ourselves, the fact that Anna and a stranger found a unity so ethereal in nature in a little coffee shop in Prague, one rainy afternoon can give us hope even with all the random and inexplicable conflict in this world. By bequeathing value in the elusive put powerful love and surrendering to this form of Syzygy we are given reason enough to endure.
The couple that perfectly complement one another…..
September in Prague that year was cold and windy. An early frost descended upon the fairy city. Autumn crept into a dismal winter, chilling the city, dimming the lights. Anna was tired of eternal winter. She longed for budding flowers to blossom once more and for iridescent ducks to reemerge along the banks of the Vltava. Every morning she had coffee at the Charles café just across from the Charles Bridge it was named after. She would sit by the large window pain, her view slightly obscured by cursive letters spelling out the various coffees and pastries offered inside the café. Anna drank her usually rose hip and jasmine infused tea and read the newest Slavic novels and essays. Anna loved the little café. The bustle of people, the simple yet potent strands of notes sung by the local musician’s violin mixed with the fragrance of the finest imported flowers and the old, gold frame mirrors that lined the walls were all charming features. Sometimes Anna would discuss philosophy and art with the adjacent table’s occupants. She enjoyed engaging in unexpected conversation and studied the unique characteristics of all the individuals she encountered. But her interaction with strangers was discontinuous. Anna was admired for her beauty, grace, wit, and intelligence, by all she encountered but something within her character forced Anna to cease all connections she created. Anna undoubtedly welcomed friendship, but the many suitors, all of whom had become café regulars in an attempt to woo her, Anna had gracefully dismissed. Only the most prosperous, successful, intelligent, handsome, and socially reputable gentlemen dared suit her, and yet she was unmoved by their unrelenting affection. She was not persuaded by love declarations or tempted by lavish gifts, like most girls might be. All of her friends questioned her sanity, but Anna waited, nevertheless unsure of what, precisely, she was waiting for.
Then one cold, rainy day that winter a windstorm engulfed the city. Trees became uprooted, even the stone bridges shook on their foundations. Anna had finished her morning tea and was about to leave the café, but Mark, the café owner, and a father like figure to Anna, urged her to remain seated until the storm passed. Anna was busy and late for work, but she agreed to wait until the high winds ceased. As soon as she had been reseated, the creaky café door opened, letting in a gust of wind much to the dismay of the crowded café occupants. The structured shadow of a tall stranger alarmed Anna and she turned to see to whom the shadow belonged. Their eyes met. In the place of the frost and the winds came the sweet fragrance of spring and the sound of water drops hitting the duck’s feathers, ruffled on their backs. Anna did not believe in “ Le coup de foudre” or love at first sight. She considered herself too well educated to be susceptible to such unrealistic fantasies. But a passion she had never experienced before overwhelmed her sensible nature. The nervous tension that came from being late to work, the imprisoning pressure and need to engage in an unreasonable amount of intellectual and personal activities, and the overzealous determination that stimulated her overachieving character, all the intangible factors that caused her anxiety ceased the second their eyes met. Anna was in love with the stranger and he was wholly and unpredictably in love with her. Finally the stars met the night sky, water had found sand, and music and beauty reigned perpetually. They were one, captivated in an instant, forever, in a world of larger moments. It is rare that a love can be so complete. That words, nor presence, nor status, can intervene in affection. That love can be so whole, so disconnected from ulterior variables. But Anna and the stranger exemplified this love. All of the wars, and conflicts, heartbreak, and pain, have been waged in an attempt to create such a love. Perhaps they are all in vain, for man cannot create such beauty, it merely is. Its existence kindles conflict, and therefore conflict is inevitable. Yet despite the gravities derived from attaining a love so pure, knowing that that love exists is in and of itself sufficient. Although we may never live to experience it for ourselves, the fact that Anna and a stranger found a unity so ethereal in nature in a little coffee shop in Prague, one rainy afternoon can give us hope even with all the random and inexplicable conflict in this world. By bequeathing value in the elusive put powerful love and surrendering to this form of Syzygy we are given reason enough to endure.